


Reconnect

by mermatee



Series: Ghost Stories [5]
Category: Ghost - Mystery Skulls (Music Video), Mystery Skulls (Band)
Genre: F/M, M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-03-16
Updated: 2015-03-16
Packaged: 2018-03-18 05:08:59
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,586
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3557198
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mermatee/pseuds/mermatee
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It wasn't until they were back at the van, with no-one around that Mystery spoke up.</p><p>“Before we get back in the van, you should probably know that we appear to have brought the spirit with us.”</p><p>A sequel to Rebuild. </p><p>Our "50% paranormal" paranormal investigation group are as back together as they can be, and it's time to deal with cases, day jobs, and the awkwardness that comes with having killed your colleague at one point. Are the Peppers going to reunite with their son any time soon? How exactly does one escape a time pocket? What's the deal with Vivi's boss? And what exactly is Arthur doing with that rubber duck?</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconnect

“That’s impossible. We checked that house thoroughly, it was gone.”

Mystery cocked his head to one side. “Well, if you say so, although, given that you’re holding a conversation with a dog while standing next a man who has been dead for quite some time, you might wish to keep an open mind about what is or is not possible.”

Lewis flickered uncertainly in the sunlight before seeming to realise and catching himself. “Are you sure it’s not just me?”

“I think that’s what the spirit was counting on. That no-one would notice if it stayed close to another spirit. As Lewis has much stronger energy, he provided a good cover.”

“So where’s it hiding?” Vivi started rummaging through her bag. “I have a compact mirror in here somewhere, it better not be in that, it was a gift. It’ll be in an object, right? Ghosts get kind of attached to certain object, and this one’s too weak to-“

“I am not weak.”

The words were soft enough to be missed entirely, were it not for the cold fury that shrouded them. Vivi continued sifting through her belongings.

“Arthur, we’re talking about the spirit, you dingbat, check the van mirr-“ She trailed off as she glanced up. Arthur was stood, every muscle in his body rigid, fists clenched, white and trembling.

It was his face that gave it away. Vivi was more than familiar with Arthur’s range of facial expressions, from watching him closely for so long, searching for any indication of a fleeting moment during which he might have forgotten to berate himself or think of all they’d lost in that cave. Hatred and fury were not things that fit his features.

“Get out of him. Now.”

“He’s been telling me much the same thing.” The spirit gave a sudden wide, empty smile and stared at the sky. “I just don’t listen to people, not now. You send me away so often, the only choice is to stay where I am. The sky is pretty today. I could sometimes see it from the mirror in the blue room, but I prefer this.”

“Lewis?” Vivi noticed that he appeared to be backing away very quickly.

“Lewis, focus. You’re starting to look…” Mystery searched for the right word; “…unsettling.”

“I don’t care. Vivi, get away from him.”

“What? No, I need to-”

Lewis ignored her, pulling frantically at her arm. “You need to get away from him, he could hurt you, he could kill you for fuck’s sake!” His grip seemed to waver as he fruitlessly clung to Vivi’s sleeve with hands that almost seemed to stutter in and out of existence in the bright sunlight. Vivi remained where she was, addressing the spirit.

“What’s your name?”

A brief pause. “I have not had a name for a long time.” The spirit’s words hung heavy and cool in the air. It didn’t sound quite like Lewis, who was getting better at sounding less like a distant radio broadcast. It sounded like a chorus of sad whispers that seemed to come from all directions, with a slight resonance of Arthur’s voice, which made sense, Vivi reasoned, considering that it was his vocal chords technically doing the work.

“But you must have had one before, surely?” Mystery padded closer to Not-Arthur, who turned away, burying a fist in his hair in frustration.

“You don’t understand. They sent me away. I didn't remember, not before. I was, but wasn't.” 

Not-Arthur was pacing back and forth, flesh hand raking rapidly through hair. Vivi noticed that its artificial twin swung limp from his shoulder. She edged closer. “Who sent you away?”

“There were walls. Walls, and a lantern out of my reach. It was dark without it. I remember....” Not-Arthur's face scrunched up, in pain or concentration or possibly both. “I threw something. A book? It fell, and went out. It went out and it wasn't lit again. I shouted for them.”

“They?”

“They weren't my parents. They said so.”

Lewis, having managed to claim some control over his appearance, kept his distance. “Who were they?”

“I don't know. They told me to address each of them as Sister until they knew where to send me.”

An ambulance went by somewhere in the distance. The air was still, and Vivi slipped a warm hand into the hand currently not occupied by its original owner. The spirit twisted Arthur's face as though in pain. 

“They never came for me. It was dark, and now I can remember... why can I remember? Before, I was just there, people stared into me and they never once noticed, and now I just-” the spirit trailed off for a moment, before continuing to beat a fist on the side of the van. 

“They left me, and it was dark, and then I was in the mirrors. Everything went away, and I was just there, what did they do to me? What did they do? I did all they said, I sat, and I read my books, and they said I'd go somewhere where I could see the sky, but I couldn't, not until I was in the blue room. Was that what they wanted? For no-one to see me?” Arthur's hand was torn from Vivi's, the spirit beginning to pace in circles. “Why wouldn't anyone see me?”

“We're here to find out just that.” Mystery trotted up to the spirit. “We want to help. We can help. We can find out why you were trapped, we can find out what happened to those people. But you will need to give our friend his body back.”

Not-Arthur clenched his right fist. “I'm not going back.”

“So you're just going to hide out in someone else's body for as long as it lasts?” Lewis cautiously stepped forward. “You'd have to assume Arthur's- Arthur's the guy you're hiding out in, by the way- identity. I wouldn't, and I'm speaking as someone who's possessed him before. For a start, you'd need to know how to fix cars. Do you know how to fix cars?”

There was a brief pause, as the spirit stared at the ground, petulant scowl etched on features it didn't suit. 

“No. He does, though. I can see his thoughts. He should be quiet, it's hard to think.”

“In his defence, you have more or less stolen his body. Mystery, what do you think we should do?”

“We can't leave these two stuck in the same body, it can't be good for Arthur. I'd say our only options would be to move our friend into another human vessel, which limits us to Vivi, and I wouldn't suggest that-”

“Why not?” 

“Because possession can cause a lot of damage, as you saw with Arthur last time, especially with an unstable spirit. Vivi doesn't have any first hand experience when it comes to possession, and this isn't the right time to try it.”

“I'll try” Vivi offered; “I know it's not ideal, but-”

“-but nothing, we need your help with this anyway. So the only other option, since Lewis is out, would be an object. So Vivi, we will probably need your mirror, sorry about that. If it's any consolation, I'm fairly certain that we can vacate it afterwards.”

She sighed. “Fine.” A compact mirror with an intricate design was pulled from her bag. “Just be careful with Arthur, OK? No repeats of last time.”

“If you recall correctly, I had nothing to do with the last time. Lewis, you'll need to leave, that gas station with the car wash we passed should be more than far enough.” Lewis glanced anxiously at Vivi, nodded, and left. “And no gliding, walking only!” Mystery called after him. “It's been a year, and he's already forgotten walking? Anyway-”

Not-Arthur broke into a run, before being taken down by Mystery, growing steadily in size, paws planted on his shoulders. “Vivi, help me hold him down, I can't be seen like this in public.”

Vivi straddled him as Mystery shrunk back to his usual size, pinning Not-Arthur's wrists to the concrete. “Got him.”

“Good. Don't let go. You'll feel a static shock, similar to the van door, but don't let go of him. Where is the mirror? It needs to be open.”

Vivi grabbed it from the book bag, content with Arthur's remaining biological arm still being pinned, clicked it open, and lay it on the ground. “Done.”

“Lewis should be at the gas station by now.”

Vivi noticed the confusion in what were technically Arthur's eyes as the small compact mirror's surface began to shine brighter than the afternoon sun, brighter than Mystery's eyes as he produced... well, not a chant, it certainly didn't seem to consist of words. It sounded like wind and rain and empty static, going from what she would usually dismiss as background noise to something that seemed to scream from her surroundings, all while Arthur's body thrashed and shifted in pain under her, eyes rolled back and back arched. She squeezed her eyes shut and refused to relinquish her iron grip. 

“I'm sorry. It's OK. This will be over soon. I'm sorry.” She whispered her mantra to her panicked friend, and she could see the change, see his features align with who he was. The noise fogged her mind, and she felt a series of pops and jolts that seemed to rattle her core. The mirror flashed and shuddered against the ground before eventually clicking shut. The air cleared, and Vivi screamed as she felt an unfamiliar hand on her shoulder. 

“Sorry, I didn't mean to frighten you” a middle-aged woman in an ill-fitting trouser suit stood behind her, cell phone in hand. “I just... do you need me to call an ambulance? For your friend here?”

Vivi looked down at a dazed and terrified Arthur, eyes shifting from her, to the stranger, to Mystery, who had resumed his dog form.

“No. I mean, no thanks, thank you, but he should be OK.” She released his wrists and hauled herself to her feet, holding a hand out. “Hey, Artie, want to try sitting up?”

His mouth was still hanging open in shock, and it took a couple of attempts to grasp Vivi's hand, but Arthur eventually managed to haul himself into sitting position. “'M'fine” he managed to slur out. 

The woman didn't seem convinced, but nodded and put her cell phone away. “Well, OK. Um... not to tell you how to do your job, but I think I read somewhere that you're really not supposed to restrain him.”

“It's fine, we're fine, we just need to get him home. Thanks for your concern.” Vivi managed the least genuine smile in history of forced politeness. 

“OK, well... hope he feels better, I guess.” 

“Thanks” Arthur mumbled as she walked away, shaking her head. He held his hand out to Vivi. 

“You think you can stand?”

“Prolly.” She managed to pull him to his feet. He took one step, and his knees buckled.

“It's OK, I've got you. Just need to get you in the van, OK?” Vivi managed to get the door open with one hand, and unceremoniously throw Arthur in the back. “Sorry, didn't mean to be so rough.”

“S'alright, at least you can lift me.” Arthur managed a watery smile, before grabbing her wrist. “Mallory.”

“What?”

“Mallory. I got that name when Mystery was putting her in the mirror.” He slid against the seat until he was lying down. “I don't know if that's the spirit's name specifically, but yeah. Thought it might help.” He shifted his legs up onto the seat, eyes covered with his forearm. All Vivi could do was pat his leg sympathetically. 

“How are you feeling?”

Silence. 

“Arthur?”

“Is this going to keep happening?” His voice was slightly muffled. He shifted on the back seat. “First, the cave, then Lewis, now this, and this wasn't even that powerful, you said so. Why does this keep happening to me?”

Mystery hopped into the van, and managed to fit on the seat, stretched out beside Arthur. “Arthur, I have a theory about that. The cave... well, that could have happened to anyone, it's a strong demon. Lewis was not quite as strong, and in a desperate position at the time. I think it's entirely possible that he inadvertently broke down your defences, the ones that everyone has, when he possessed you. That's probably why you seem to be physically coping with this more easily than last time.”

“So... what, this is just going to happen every time I go near a ghost now?”

“No. There are ways of repelling them. Vivi and I will get to work on that when we get home. It can be as simple as something you carry with you. Just try to rest. I promise you, this won't be a regular event. Vivi, in the meantime, look after the mirror. If you absolutely have to open it, let me know, I'll make sure Arthur's far away enough to not be a convenient vessel.”

Vivi nodded. “Sure. Look, Arthur, I'm so sorry. I assumed you were just kind of freaked out, I should have noticed-”

“It's fine.” 

“It's not, I made you go through this shit all over again because I was too busy... I guess patting myself on the back because nothing went wrong this time. God, I'm the worst at this.” 

Arthur managed to force himself to sit up, dislodging a deeply unimpressed Mystery. “Nah. You're actually pretty good at this. I mean, I don't have much basis for comparison or anything, but this is probably at least the most competent paranormal investigation group I've been in.”

“Well, you have a point. 50% of it IS paranormal. Mystery, get Lewis.”

“Vivi, leash laws.”

“Right.” She gave Arthur a parting pat on the leg. “Back in a minute.”

*

Vivi drove them home, stopping at that diner once again for food. Arthur seemed pale and groggy, and his hands shook when he ate the pastry she bought him in lieu of the requested coffee, on the basis that he'd barely eaten anything. He did seem slightly better afterwards; Mystery wondered aloud about the possibility of possession draining blood sugar.   
Strangely, after that stop, Lewis got in the back of the van, next to Arthur. Vivi elected to say nothing, merely cast a glance at the mirror, currently taped shut with electrical tape, and head off. 

“How come you're back here?” Arthur glanced up at him, Mystery large and cumbersome and asleep in his lap. 

“Thought you'd want some company, unless you wanted to go back to sleep. How are you feeling?”

“A little better. Head hurts like hell though. And I felt everything the spirit felt, so... Lewis?”

“Mm?”

“I really am sorry, you know that, right? I never wanted any of-”

“I know. I've basically read your mind, remember?”

“OK. Just wanted to make sure.”

They sat in silence, watching the road whip by. They were about half an hour from home, and Arthur was starting to fall asleep when Lewis spoke again. 

“I'm sorry I turned you into a human ouija board. That was shitty of me.”

A smile played on Arthur's lips. “That's OK. Hey, maybe in time, we can weaponise it or something.”

“You could be a TV psychic.”

“Do I get a fancy sequinned jacket?”

“Sure, why not.”

“Nice.” His eyelids dropped, and, oddly, he didn't feel all that surprised when he felt a warm, weightless, yet curiously solid hand on his shoulder as he fell asleep.

**Author's Note:**

> Hello, I'm back! Thought it was time for a bit of a change-up, since I can't keep doing four-part alternating POV chapters forever, and Lord knows it's time for our paranormal investigators to do some paranormal investigation. 
> 
> Re: This chapter. I kind of like the idea of possession coming with some negative physical side-effects, which, luckily, the passerby mistakes for a medical condition. I'm also introducing the idea of Lewis possessing Arthur back in Reunions causing some kind of permanent damage when it comes to defense against ghosts, because why not, it adds another perspective on the inevitable resentment in their relationship and might even act as somewhat of an equaliser. 
> 
> As always, kudos, reviews and feedback much appreciated, and give me a shout over on Tumblr at deadbeatexmachina if you want. Hopefully next chapter coming soon!


End file.
